Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Yet Another Quickie

Alternative title: just fillin' in the "Did you post today?" square.  SN1 sent along a lil article yesterday that I got a kick out of, the title of which is "A New Kind of Drunkeness; The greatness of gin."  The bits that me laugh:
By contrast, Old Man Drinks: Recipes, Advice, and Barstool Wisdom would be an appropriate present on the occasion of a 60th birthday or a second divorce. Written by Robert Schnakenberg and beautifully designed by Doogie Horner, it features 70 recipes for cocktails, each preceded by a capsule history or concise tribute, as if to provide a seed for an inexcusably long night of sitting on a barstool talking shit. In explaining the origins the Monkey Gland, Schnakenberg finds occasion to discuss the sexual potency of William Butler Yeats
I find it interesting my second divorce occurred just a few short years before my 60th birthday. I'm not at all convinced the two milestones are unrelated, either.  But leave us not digress.  While there's undoubtedly much about gin in this article it's really a set of short book reviews masquerading as cocktail critique.  More than worth a read, though.

Speaking of second divorce presents... I prolly would have been much better off buying a copy of "Old Man Drinks," a case of Tanqueray (along with an appropriate amount of Schweppes), and ten pounds of limes rather than spending several thousand dollars on the Great European Divorce Tour.  But on the other hand... I'd have missed stuff like this:

Prague has some very stylish and lovely women.


That would be a Budweiser Budvar in the foreground... one of many... but we weren't counting.  All things considered, the GEDT was money well-spent.  But I still need a copy of "Old Man Drinks."  

7 comments:

  1. Gin is a superior summertime hooch, very refreshing while having elevenses.

    As for a TGEDT, Europe is the wicked cool summer destination, precisely because of the sidewalk views. I just wish it wasn't so darn expensive to enjoy.

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  2. Hey... the Euro is waaay down vs the dollar. This summer might be as good a year as any (and better than most) to go!

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  3. Southern Hemisphere is calling me... More later.

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  4. I've never had a taste of gin...oh wait...I have had a "New Orleans Gin Fizz" at Brennan's.

    I was about 12 years old. ;)

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  5. As others have noted, gin is the quintessential summer drink. You're only depriving yourfineself, Andy.

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  6. Wait -- they have Budweiser in Europe? I'm so confused.

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  7. Budvar was the original Budweiser. See here: the original Budweiser. Such knowledge, of course, comes from being a beer-o-phile. But, yeah... Budweiser (the American piss-in-a-bottle) is widely available in Europe. Once upon a time it was a trendy thing among young Londoners who didn't know any better. ;-)

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